What Have VCs Really Done for Innovation?

Re: What Have VCs Really Done for Innovation? by sachinag on Sunday September 20, 2009 @05:19PM (#833579)

Oh, totally: the VCs were smart enough to see that Google was different enough that both KPCB and Sequoia went in 50/50 on the first $25MM round. And Google had a totally failed monetization strategy (their intranet search appliances, of which they sold a single one, to RedHat) before Sergey and Larry capitulated to allow advertising on SERPs. Google needed the VC money to survive until AdWords finally delivered a coherent monetization strategy.

It's a little sad that someone with so much good analysis of the NVCA's overreaching had to throw in a jab so easily refutable.

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Re: What Have VCs Really Done for Innovation? by gruseom on Sunday September 20, 2009 @05:35PM (#833593)

I agree, it's superfluous and undermines his case.

This is interesting:

their intranet search appliances, of which they sold a single one, to RedHat

I knew their appliance business wasn't that big, but is that really true? How do you know it?

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Re: What Have VCs Really Done for Innovation? by tedunangst on Sunday September 20, 2009 @06:40PM (#833651)

It's false. I worked for a company that owned one and was not named RedHat.

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